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Find activists, groups, and events right in your own neighborhood. Join FreedomConnector to get involved and learn more about key issues threatening our economic freedom. Whether you’re looking for like-minded people, trying to boost your existing group’s impact, or simply trying to stay up on current events, FreedomConnector is the place to start. See what’s happening in your state today!

On behalf of hundreds of thousands of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to VOTE “NO” on the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008: S. 2636. The bill seeks direct federal spending, calling for taxpayers nationwide to cover the costs for those regions of the nation where housing markets were overbuilt while penalizing prudent homebuyers who chose to avoid potentially risky mortgages.

FreedomWorks hosted a group of about 30 students and their professors at our office. The students were part of a political science class in town to visit political organizations to learn how groups outside the mainstream political parties influenced policy. Students received a copy of Frederic Bastiat's The Law, FreedomWorks voter education cards on energy, regulations, entitlements, taxes, and health care, and a FreedomWorks brochure when they came in. After a quick introduction by me, Brendan gave a short history of FreedomWorks and explained how we use grassroots power to keep our issues part of the political discussion. He got some good questions, but when Dr. Brough began to go into depth about the freedom issues, their roots in free market economics, and what FreedomWorks is trying to do on specific current issues, the room lit up. Some students were somewhat adversarial, but all asked very good questions, reading from the education cards and asking Dr. B and Brendan to expound on those points. What began as a half-hour appointment soon stretched over an hour and a half as the students and professors engaged Dr. Brough and Brendan in an intense discussion. Afterward, they all seemed very grateful for the time they had at FreedomWorks. Many students took business cards and asked how they could become more involved. Dr. Richard Himelfarb, who arranged the trip, thanked us for our time and explained how great it was for the students to hear a perspective that was rarely presented in class.

FreedomWorks field coordinator Joe Hilliard joins advocates for school choice in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. FreedomWorks is part of a coalition of citizen groups supporting the efforts of local leaders to start a charter school to compete with the government-run schools in the area. The Allentown Morning Call covered the press conference, organized by Chris Hoenscheid. More than 40 people attended the press conference in support of opening the Thomas Paine Charter School in Catasauqua, PA. The Catasauqua Area School Board voted the project down earlier last month. But Hoenscheid plans to resubmit an application for the 2009-10 school year. Here is the article: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b3-5charter.6337860apr02,0,4181634.story

The agreement in the US Senate on Thursday to create new bipartisan housing legislation reflects intensifying pressure in Congress to tackle the mortgage crisis.
Despite the emerging consensus across party lines in favour of more government intervention in the housing market, the final shape of the bill has been influenced by a curious coalition opposed to a state rescue for mortgage borrowers.

CEI's John Berlau has an interesting piece in Investor's Business Daily. While I agree that hysteria about systemic risk is being used as cover for wildly inappropriate Federal Reserve action, I don't agree with John's point that Bear shareholders were made worse by the deal or that their options were compromised.
In fact, Bear shareholders clearly did better under the Fed-orchestrated (and revised to $10) buyout.

The key element of the Bear Stearns bailout is a secretive government-backed loan of $29 billion to J.P. Morgan Chase. (It is for $30 billion but JP Morgan is on the hook for the first $1 billion in losses.)
Bear Stearns was clearly bankrupt, but the Federal Reserve’s loan allowed J.P. Morgan Chase to eventually offer $10 a share for the firm. That represents about a $1 billion windfall to Bear Stearns shareholders, who should have been wiped out completely for owning an insolvent investment bank.

Over the years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has increased its power and shifted its focus away from pharmaceutical and medical device approvals and food safety issues and towards the enforcement and administration of regulations and guidelines on a wide range of consumer products.

A Northampton Area School District teacher seeking to open a charter school at the former Lincoln Middle School in Catasauqua on Tuesday appealed to the public to help him raise a $50,000 deposit for the building.
''We need the help of the Lehigh Valley to make that happen,'' said Chris Hoenscheid, speaking to about 40 people at the middle school on Tuesday of the possibility of opening the Thomas Paine Charter School.
Hoenscheid and his wife, Deanne, hope to use the building to house the school, which would serve kindergarten through eight grade.

FreedomWorks is pleased that Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina sent a letter today to Homeland Security Secretary Michal Chertoff explaining why South Carolina will not comply with the REAL ID Act. This law was passed without debate in Congress, and contains billions of dollars in unfunded federal mandates.